John Mayer, Gregg Allman, Joe Walsh and other prominent
musicians plan to hold a large benefit concert to raise money for Levon Helm’s
estate on Oct. 3 at the IzodCenter
in East Rutherford, N.J., Mr. Helm’s family announced.

Proceeds from the “Love for Levon” concert will go to help
his family retain ownership of his home and his famous studio, a converted barn
in Woodstock, N.Y. Some
of the money will also be used to continue the Midnight Rambles, performances
Mr. Helm used to host periodically at the studio, attracting some of the most
talented rock and folk musicians in the country, the family said.

“We want to continue to honor his legacy by creating a
musical landmark at the barn, one that inspires and celebrates Americana
music and its heritage,” Mr. Helm’s wife and daughter said in a statement.

Mr. Helm, who was best known as the drummer and a singer for
the Band, died of throat cancer earlier this year at 71. The lineup for
the benefit features artists from several genres, reflecting the broad
influence Mr. Helms had on American pop music. Among others, the list
includes Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Lucinda Williams, Don Was, Patty Griffin,
Bruce Hornsby and Mavis Staples.

A version of this article appeared in print on 08/24/2012, on page C2 of the NewYork
edition with the headline: Concert Tribute to Levon Helm.

One of the last musical projects Levon Helm participated in
at his rustic studio in Woodstock, N.Y., was “Toast
to Freedom,” a heart-warming single that will go on sale Wednesday to
raise money for Amnesty
International on its 50th anniversary.

Mr. Helm, the former drummer with The Band who died
recently, not only played on the track, but he also encouraged his friends in Woodstock,
among them the singer Donald Fagen and the producer Bob Clearmountain, to get
involved. The instrumental tracks and some vocals were recorded in Mr.
Helm’s studio, known as the Barn in May 2011, a process recorded in a making-of video.
“Now to be a part of this is going to be a chance for myself, and all of us,
all the players, to finally contribute,” Mr. Helm said on the film.

The song was the brainchild of Carl Carlton, a German
guitarist and producer who had been recording an album with his band, the
Songdogs, in Mr. Helm’s studio earlier that spring. Mr. Carlton said he
was moved by images of a protester in Tunisia
who set himself on fire to protest police corruption, setting in motion the
uprisings known as the Arab Spring.

A longtime supporter of Amnesty International, Mr. Carlton
decided to produce a song that would not only raise money for the human rights
group, but also say something about how precious political freedom is.
“Sometimes as musicians we feel so helpless,” he said in an interview.
“All you can do is write some words and music.”

After meeting with Amnesty officials in Dublin
to present the idea, Mr. Carlton teamed up with Larry Campbell, a
multi-instrumentalist in Mr. Helm’s circle, to write the tune.

They met in New York
and spent a week working together at the ChelseaHotel (he stayed in Arthur Miller’s
old room). “It was the hardest thing I ever had to write about,” he said.
“It’s so hard not to become superficial.”

Five days later, he came up with lyrics that personified
freedom as a woman, “the mother of everything,” as he put it, and sounds like
an anthemic love song. Amnesty officials were delighted with the song,
and when he played the demo for Mr. Helm in Woodstock
a few days he got the thumbs up and permission to use the studio.

Once the basic tracks were laid down, Mr. Carlton and Jochen
Wilms, a music executive who co-produced the track, set about persuading
musicians to add their vocals to the record. Over several months,
Mr. Carlton traveled around Europe, the Middle
East and the United States,
collecting collaborators. Among the 50 musicians who are on the
final recording are Kris Kristofferson, Carly Simon, KebMo, Eric Burden, Taj Mahal, Marianne
Faithful, Angelique Kidjo, Rosanne Cash and the Blind Boys of Alabama.

“I hope, of course, that it makes a lot of money for
Amnesty, but at the same time it creates awareness,” said Mr. Carlton. “The
good thing is for once in my life I feel like Levon Helm. I didn’t make a
compromise.”

The track goes on sale on Wednesday afternoon for $1.29 at
digital sites like Amazon and iTunes.

Of Mr. Helm, Mr. Dylan wrote: “He was my bosom buddy friend
to the end, one of the last true great spirits of my or any other generation.
This is just so sad to talk about. I still can remember the first day I met him
and the last day I saw him. We go back pretty far and had been through some
trials together. I’m going to miss him, as I’m sure a whole lot of others will
too.”

Just before Mr. Helm’s death, Robbie Robertson, the Band’s
guitarist, visited him in a Manhattan
hospital. The two had started playing together in Canada
as members of Ronnie Hawkins’s band; the Band became Mr. Dylan’s electrified
back-up group before putting out their own albums.

But Mr. Robertson and Mr. Helm had not played together since
the Band’s Last Waltz concert in 1976, when the group broke up with a fair bit
of acrimony. Shortly after he saw Mr. Helm in the hospital, on April
8, Rolling
Stone reported, Mr. Robertson issued a statement that included this
tribute: “Levon is one of the most extraordinary talented people I’ve
ever known and very much like an older brother to me. I am so grateful I
got to see him one last time and will miss him and love him forever.”

This post has been revised to reflect the following
correction:

Correction: April
24, 2012

Because of an editing error, a report in the “Arts, Briefly”
column on Saturday about Bob Dylan’s recollections of collaborating with Levon
Helm, the drummer and singer who died last week at 71, erroneously included Mr.
Helm among the musicians pictured at a 1974 performance. Another drummer, who
was not identified, was shown with the group; Mr. Helm was not pictured.

Bob Dylan will play the first concert at the an ambitious and eclectic slate of shows Mr.
Shapiro has lined up for the fall, including concerts by the Roots, Fiona Apple
and My Morning Jacket. Mr. Dylan is touring this fall to promote his new album
“Tempest.” The album, his 35th studio effort, will be released on Sept. 11.
Tickets for the concert will go on sale on Aug.17, but Mr. Dylan has reserved a
block of tickets that will be sold to members of his fan club four days
earlier, on Aug. 13.

In one of his best-known speeches from “The Tempest” the
sorcerer Prospero declares that his “rough magic” he will “here abjure,” and
when some “heavenly music” is next required, he will break his staff, “Bury it
certain fathoms in the earth / And deeper than did ever plummet sound / I’ll
drown my book.”

Four centuries after Shakespeare wrote those words, another
popular bard namedBob
Dylan has decided it’s once again time to make some new music of his
own, and while he hasn’t vowed to break his guitar and bury it, some of his
fans are wondering if he too is preparing to cast his last spell.

On Tuesday, Mr. Dylan announced that
he would put out a new album, called “Tempest,” on Sept. 11. The album, to be
released by his longtime label, Columbia Records, will be the 35th studio album
of his career, and his first of original work since “Together Through
Life” in 2009. It is to arrive on the 50th anniversary of the day that Mr.
Dylan’s self-titled debut album was put on sale.

As The
Guardian notes, some Dylanologists at
the fan site expectingrain.com are wondering if there is deeper
significance in the numerology or the similarity in title to “The Tempest,”
which is widely believed to be the last play Shakespeare wrote alone. (“Gulp !! … let’s hope that doesn’t
mean what we think it does!” wrote a commenter named Queen Anne Lace.)

To those pessimists, we say that Shakespeare did go on to
collaborate on “Henry VIII” and “The Two Noble Kinsmen,” to say nothing of his
lost plays and apocryphal works. So, chin up.

The veteran rocker lost his battle with cancer in April and he will be
remembered at a star-studded charity show in New Jersey
in October. Mayer has signed up to lead the concert, along with Gregg Allman and
country star Dierks
Bentley.

The Love For Levon show will be held at the IzodCenter in East
Rutherford and will also feature performances from Ray LaMontagne, Eric Church and Patty Griffin, and
proceeds from the gig will go to support Helm's studio complex and keep his
Midnight Ramble Session shows going.

A joint statement from Levon's wife, Sandy, and daughter, Amy, reads, "We
are deeply moved that so many musicians and friends of Levon's are coming
together to celebrate his life and his music, and to help us keep his musical
spirit and vision alive in the Midnight Rambles. We want to continue to honor
his legacy by creating a musical landmark at the Barn (Helm's studio complex),
one that inspires and celebrates Americana
music and its heritage."

Show producer Keith Wortman adds, "We are honored to produce a benefit
concert that pays tribute to a musical icon and a beautiful soul. Levon's
friends and fans will be coming from all over the world to be part of music
history for such a noble and worthy cause to Save The Barn, and ensure that the
legacy of Levon Helm will live on for generations to come."

After losing a battle to throat cancer earlier this year,
the iconic drummer and singer for The Band will be remembered in the “Love for
Levon” concert. Performers include: My Morning Jacket, Ray LaMontagne, Eric
Church, Patty Griffin, Bruce Hornsby, Mavis Staples and Joe Walsh.

The concert will take place Oct. 3 at the IzodCenter in East Rutherford N.J.
Tickets will go on sale Aug. 29. All the proceeds will go to support Midnight
Ramble concerts.

John Mayer, Gregg Allman, Dierks Bentley and several other
musicians are getting together to pay tribute to the late Levon Helm.

The “Love for Levon” benefit concert will be held Oct. 3 at
the IzodCenter
in East Rutherford, N.J. It will include performances from such artists as My
Morning Jacket, Ray LaMontagne, Eric Church, Patty Griffin, Bruce Hornsby,
Mavis Staples, and Joe Walsh.

The influential Grammy-winning singer and drummer for The
Band died of throat cancer earlier this year at age 71.

Tickets go on sale to the public Aug. 29. Proceeds from the
concert will support Levon’s estate and his Midnight Ramble concerts

Don Was and Larry Campbell will serve as co-musical
directors.

Other performers will include Warren Haynes, John Hiatt,
Lucinda Williams, and Marc Cohn.

In its final 2012 show at the Ocean City Music Pier
Series, Tony Mart’s present a smokin’ hot jam Saturday, August
18th when the finest rock musicians and entertainers in South Jersey come
together to perform the all-star “Music that made Tony Mart’s Famous”, a
tribute to the golden years of Rock ‘n Roll at the Jersey Shore.

The show reaches back to Bill Haley and his Comets,
Conway Twitty, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, features a tribute
to Bob Dylan and THE BAND (known as Levon and the Hawks at Tony
Mart’s in ’65) and a sizzling finale of songs by Eric Clapton and
Cream, Bruce Springsteen and the famous soundtrack from the
movie “Eddie and the Cruisers” which was filmed at Tony Mart’s in
1982.

Far from a stodgy oldies show, this is an intense 2 hour
rock show featuring Danny Eyeron guitar, Howard Isaacson on
saxophone dramatic vocal performances by South Jersey’s
own rock ‘n roll icon, Bob Campanell, who played with Bruce Springsteen
and Southside Johnny and the popular Dr. Bobby Fingers.

Far from a stodgy oldies show, this show is an intense 2
hour rock ‘n roll jam featuring some of the finest rock musicians in New
Jersey,Danny Eyer, on guitar and Howard
Isaacson on saxophone. Dramatic vocal performances will be
provided by South Jersey’s own rock ‘n roll
icon, Bob Campanell, who performed with Bruce Springsteen, Southside
Johnny and founded “The Shakes”. Joining Bobby on lead vocals will
be the popular Dr. Bobby Fingers and Jimmy “Old School”
Glenn, lead vocalist and drummer from the Hawkins Road Country Rock
Band.

Experience this high energy, fast paced show celebrating the
greatest hits by the Tony Mart stars of the ‘50’s to the ‘80’s. It
begins at 8PM with doors opening at 7PM at theOceanCity Music Pier. Tickets
are available for only $20 at the Music Pier Box Office or by calling
609-525-9458.